HOPING TO HIT THE HOOP – Cape Cod Academy’s Jon Hegarty (26), playing for the Upper Cape, eyes his opportunity during the All-Star Game March 18.

Perhaps following the lead of their sister team in the All-Star opener, the Lower Cape boys battled to a 97-89 win against their Upper Cape opponents in a good-natured game.

At the start the two teams, Lower Cape in white and Upper Cape in blue, traded points on shots from Cape Cod Academy’s Erik Wisniowski and Barnstable’s Jason Eddy of the Upper Cape, and the Lower Cape’s Jack Roberts of Martha’s Vineyard and Jamaree Hall of Dennis-Yarmouth.

As the first quarter timed out, the Upper Cape boys in blue held a slight edge over the Lower Cape with a score of 18-16, extending that lead to 28-25 as the second quarter got under way.

Midway through the second, however, the Lower Cape began its rally, bringing the score to a 33-33 tie near the four-minute mark on shots from Hall, Nantucket’s Andrew Benson and Leo Atkinson, and Nauset’s Connor Mountain.

Lower Cape also had a defensive boost from the vertically gifted Terrell Correira of Nantucket, standing an imposing 6’7”, slightly taller than LC teammates Hall and Mountain (6’5” and 6’6” respectively), and a solid three inches taller than Wisniowski, UC’s tallest player.

While Wisniowski, Eddy, Sandwich’s Zachary Sprague, CCA’s Jon Hegarty and Falmouth’s Andrew McGill continued to battle through the second quarter for the Upper Cape, the Lower Cape headed into the break with a solid lead, which they continued to extend during the game’s remainder.

Minutes into the third, Lower Cape held an eight-point edge on shots from Hall, Izak Brown (no school listed), and MV’s Peter Keaney, but the Upper Cape continued to put on the pressure, with Barnstable’s Charlie Rice and Nick Peabody sinking shots, including a trey from Peabody.

It was the fourth-quarter efforts of Roberts, Harwich’s Zachary Blute, Mountain and Brown that sealed the win for the Lower Cape, however, as the white team surged away from a 71-71 tie late in the game to gain a 10-point lead in the final minute that resulted in victory.